Lessons from cholera & Vibrio cholerae.

Cholera is an acute form of diarrhoeal disease that plagued human civilization over the centuries. The sudden and explosive onset of the disease in the form of an outbreak or epidemic, coupled with high mortality and morbidity rates, had a tragic impact on the personal as well as social life of people living in the affected areas. The enormity of human sufferings led clinicians and scientists to carry out extensive research on cholera and Vibrio cholerae (the causative bacterium of the disease) leading to major discoveries that opened up novel areas of research or new disciplines in biomedical sciences. An attempt is made here to summarize some of these breakthroughs and outline their significance in broader perspectives. Finally, the possible impact of the global socio-political scenario on the spread of cholera epidemics (pandemicity of cholera) is briefly discussed.